In this site presents accommodation and inclusive strategies for Mathematics students with disabilities. Topics include teaching strategies, learning environments, and assistive/adaptive technologies. All of the strategies have been found to assist students with disabilities in their academic pursuits. Eight general types of disabilities are presented across four Mathematics teaching methods, viz., teacher presentation, recitation, reading, and discussion (24 subsets). Over 600 teaching strategies are presented.
Arguably, the most influential mathematician/scientist in history (and the first to be knighted) would today be labeled behaviorally impaired in contemporary classification of this brilliant man. The logic and his computational tome published some 300 years ago, today guides the paths of satellites and spacecraft, and his mathematical methods are utilized in the computers that facilitate the operation of "the world." He created the mathematical framework for physics as well as the "blueprint" for the physical sciences. His "Principals of Mathematics" was published in 1686.
Over the three centuries, since Newton one of the outstanding mathematicians with a disability, Dr. Stephen Hawking (who has anymls lateral sclerosis), now holds Sir Isaac's chair of Mathematics at Cambridge. Among a series of outstanding contributions in mathematics on astro-science is his theoretical synthesis of the birth of the Universe. He elaborated, among other things, the black holes hypothesis in a popular book "Brief History of Time."
The 1988 "Report to the Nation on the future of Mathematics Education" states that, "Mathematics is a field well suited to offer opportunities to disabled individuals." Further, "as a mental discipline, [mathematics] requires only mental activity for effective performance." This is true for many students with disabilities, but, currently, some 19% of the 50,000 students in the West Virginia public school systems are intellectually impaired. Also, individuals with certain other types of disabilities (e.g. autism), or multiple forms of neurological impairment, generally have difficulty in obtaining Mathematical knowledge, or in doing so, in "a timely" fashion. The report further stated that the "growing use of computers as an aid for disabled people, is yet another effective link to enable disabled persons to succeed in mathematics and Mathematics based careers." About individuals with disabilities, the report finishes with, "the nation cannot afford continued under-representation of disabled persons in the mathematical careers." Of note, is that there are some individuals who cannot use, or easily use a computer.
These comments set the stage in 1988 for action, and now, 13 years later, we still find students, who have disabilities, that have a final course grade with statistically significant differential slightly under one letter grade lower as compared with their same class non-disabled student peers.
It is the purpose of this web site to assist the Mathematics teachers in the public school and college systems in mitigating such discrepant outcomes by the use of some of the appropriate strategies and assistive devices presented herein. Information is presented about facilitating the students with disabilities to be assist in making the "Mathematics learning field level" between those students who are disabled and those who are not.
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Expectations of the type of special students in the West Virginia public school systems can be obtained from the table below. The data were gathered by the West Virginia Department of Education and can be used by science teachers in projecting the relat ive frequency and the types of special students that can be expected enter their classrooms.
The title of this table is: DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIAL STUDENTS IN THE WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. This table shows the distribution of special students in the West Virginia Public School System, for the year 1995, by type of disability. 19,024 students (46%) have a specific learning disability. 11,011 students (26%) have communication disorders. 6,473 students (16%) have mild mental impairments. 883 students (5%) have moderate mental impairments. 377 students (0.91%) students have hearing impairments. 288 students (0.69%) have severe mental impairments. 219 students (0.53%) have orthopedic impairments. 199 students (0.48%) have visual impairments. 196 students (0.47%) have profound mental impairments. 130 students (0.31%) have Autism. 80 students (0.19%) have impairments due to traumatic brain injuries. 24 students (0.06%) are deaf-blind. 754 students (1.81%) have "other health impairments." In the table below are listed the categories, numbers, and percentages of students with disabilities nationwide. Although the categories are somewhat different from the table above, the general proportions are quite similar.
The title of this table is: DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIAL STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. This table shows the distribution of special students in the United States Public School System, for the year 1995, by type of disability. 2,064,892 students (48%) have a specific learning disability. 976,186 students (23%) have communication disorders. 566,150 students (13%) have mental retardation. 382,570 students (9%) have serious emotional disorders. 87,956 students (2%) have multiple disabilities. 58,164 students (1%) have hearing impairments. 53,165 students (1%) have other health impairments. 47,999 students (1%) have orthopedic impairments. 22,960 students (0.5%) have visual impairments. 1,634 students (0.04%) are deaf-blind.
The WV Department of Education, Project on Co-ordinated and Thematic Sciences (CATS);
The National Science Foundation
The Eberly College of Arts & Sciences, WVU
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Last updated: September 18, 2002
Web Master Ed Keller